May 20 (Bloomberg) -- Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. shares
fell the most in more than a decade after weak sales of golfing
and hunting gear crimped its profit forecast.

The stock tumbled 18 percent to $43.60 at the close in New
York, the biggest decline since its initial public offering in
October 2002. Shares of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania-based Dick’s
have dropped 25 percent this year.

Chief Executive Officer Edward Stack said today in a
statement that golf-equipment sales have continued to fall,
defying the company’s expectations for “modest improvement.”
Hunting-gear sales also were weaker than the company expected.
Severe winter weather last quarter could have played a role in
the slump, said Paul Swinand, a Chicago-based analyst at
Morningstar Inc.

“These guys are very weather-sensitive,” said Swinand,
who has a hold rating on the shares. “If you’re going camping
or fishing and it’s pouring rain, you just don’t go.”

Earnings per share in the current fiscal year will be as
much as $2.85, down from a previous projection of a maximum of
$3.08, Dick’s said. The average of 30 analysts’ estimates
compiled by Bloomberg was $3.08.

To offset the slowdown, Stack is working to increase e-commerce orders and sales of women’s athletic apparel. Online
sales accounted for 7 percent of the company’s total last
quarter, compared with 5.8 percent last year. The company also
saw strength in footwear and youth apparel, Stack said.